We are looking forward to an exciting new year for the Women in Region 8! It really is our time. Think about how women have stepped up all over the country.

It took 150 years for US women to earn the right to vote, but women know it just isn’t enough to have a seat at the table, we need to be able to have a voice once we’re there! This mid-term election brought out a record number of women running for and getting elected to Congress and political offices throughout our country! Many had never run for office but took control of any fears and stepped forward because they knew they could make a difference - and understood that we face a critical time in our country.

A record 103 women were elected to serve in the 116th House. Combined with five new female Senators and ten female Senators not up for re-election, a total of 131 women will serve in the 116th Congress!

Also, there will be more women, women of color, openly LGBT members, and millennials serving in the House than ever before. Those gains in representation, however, are largely concentrated among Democrats. Republicans saw their roster of female House representatives gutted 43% from 23 members to 13.

The 116th Congress will be sworn into office on Jan. 3rd — and the incoming House of Representatives is shaping up to be the most diverse House in history. Overall, 256 women who ran won their primary, and 39 of the 110 women serving in Congress in 2018 are women of color: 19 are Black, 10 Latina, 9 Asian American/Pacific Islander and 1 multiracial.

America is diverse, as is our union, so It is important our elected officials look like us and reflect our values. That is also why we, UAW women, need to step up and take a place in our communities. The Director of the Int’l Women’s Department, Vice-President Cindy Estrada and Region 8 Director, Mitchell Smith, are urging all UAW Sisters to get involved! Not only should we take our voices to the streets, but to the legislative bodies in our communities and in our states!